Posted By On July 1, 2011 @ 6:01 am In Hockey,New York Rangers,NHL | 252 Comments

The festivities begin at noon.

[1]The read I’m getting is that the Rangers are going hard for Brad Richards, but they expect several teams to be involved — maybe even a surprise team or two — and if they whiff on him, they won’t go for another big-ticket guy.

They might also try to add a piece here or there, but Richards will be Glen Sather’s only major target today. At least that’s what I’m hearing.

Look at the bright side. No matter what happens, it won’t be the worst free-agency day in Rangers history. Right?

Pre-season news: Because of the renovations at the Garden and the Europe trip, I’m hearing the Rangers will only play three preseason games on this side of the pond. Two of those will be against the Devils, one in Albany (hear that Julie?!) and one in Newark; then they will play in Philly and fly directly out of there to Europe.

Prior to that, training camp opens Sept. 16 with physicals, and I suspect the next day on the ice — and unless John Tortorella has softened (he hasn’t), there won’t be pucks for the first two or three days.